An upper level system tracked from Western Kansas into Eastern Nebraska. This brought a 100 mile wide band of moderate to heavy snowfall from the southeastern Nebraska Panhandle across the eastern half of north central Nebraska on March 7-8, 2009.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS LBF wrote it up.
An upper level system tracked from Western Kansas into Eastern Nebraska. This brought a 100 mile wide band of moderate to heavy snowfall from the southeastern Nebraska Panhandle across the eastern half of north central Nebraska on March 7-8, 2009. The heaviest snowfall occurred across Arthur county, northeast across Hooker, southeastern Cherry, and southern Brown county. These counties reported snowfall amounts ranging from 6 to as much as 14 inches.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 7, 3:55 AM CST, 10 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
355 AM CST SAT MAR 7 2009
.SYNOPSIS...
ENERGY DIGGING ACROSS THE WEST WILL BRING SYSTEMS EAST AND COLDER
AIR FOR THE RETURN OF WINTER TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
FORECAST CHALLENGE IN THE NEAR TERM IS SNOW AMOUNTS TONIGHT
THROUGH 15Z SUNDAY. THE H5 LONGWAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE WEST EVOLVES
TODAY TO A REX PATTERN WITH THE SPLIT FLOW PATTERN TO CARRY A
SHORTWAVE TROUGH NORTHEAST THIS EVENING. THE H7 SHORTWAVE TROUGH
WILL DEEPEN WITH THE H7 LOW CLOSING OFF WHILE LIFTING NORTHEAST
FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.
MODELS ARE SIMILAR BUT LEAD TO A COUPLE DIFFERENT POTENTIALS IN
TIMING AND QPF AMOUNTS FOR A BLEND OF NAM AND GFS USED THROUGH
SUNDAY.
TODAY SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL SHIFT NORTHEAST INTO THE AFTERNOON
WITH CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS TO LINGER THROUGH THE DAY. TEMPERATURES
WILL BE SOME 20 TO 25 DEGREES COLDER THAN FRIDAY AS INCREASING
UPSLOPE AND ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL CAUSE SATURATION OF THE LOWER
LAYERS INTO THE AFTERNOON AS PIECES OF ENERGY LIFT NORTHEAST FOR A CHANCE
OF RAIN OR SNOW THAT WILL TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW TONIGHT. USING A
MODEL BLEND CREATES THE POTENTIAL FOR A MIX OF FREEZING RAIN OR
SNOW INTO THE EVENING SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 92 THAT WILL CHANGE TO ALL
SNOW BEYOND 03Z TONIGHT.
TONIGHT THE H7 LOW FORMS AND DEEPENS WHILE LIFTING NORTHEAST AND
SHOULD RESULT IN THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA SEEING
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES POSSIBLE EAST OF A LINE FROM
OGALLALA TO CODY WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS ACROSS PORTIONS OF BOYD
AND HOLT COUNTIES. THE DENDRITIC LAYER MOISTENS WITH BEST LIFT
FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 12Z THAT SHIFTS EAST SUNDAY MORNING BY 15Z.
FAVORABLE DYNAMICS SHOULD LEAD TO A FEW HOURS WHERE SNOWFALL RATES
COULD REACH AROUND AN INCH PER HOUR AS THE UPPER LOW LIFTS
NORTHEAST. AS THE H7 LOW MOVES NORTHEAST IT GETS DISPLACED FROM
THE MEAN FLOW AND SLOWS WHILE MOVING INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA AND
INTO IOWA WITH SNOW AMOUNTS POSSIBLY ADJUSTED UPWARDS IN THE FAR
NORTH CENTRAL. TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE TONIGHT CLOSE AND FOLLOWED.
SUNDAY WILL BE BETWEEN SYSTEMS THAT SHOULD LEAD TO SOME CLEARING IN
THE FAR WEST AS THE H7 LOW MOVES EAST AND MORE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT
CREATES DOWNSLOPING WINDS FOR WARMEST TEMPS INTO THE EASTERN
PANHANDLE AND NORTHWEST SANDHILLS. SNOW COVER WILL CREATE AN
ADDITIONAL VARIABLE SUNDAY WITH TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE UNDERCUT
BASED ON FORECAST SNOW AMOUNTS. THEN THE PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL
BRING ANOTHER SYSTEM EAST ONTO THE PLAINS SUNDAY NIGHT. FORECAST
LEANED TOWARD THE NAM SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THAT SHOULD CARRY THE
NEXT SYSTEM ACROSS THE PANHANDLE BEFORE ACCELERATING NORTHEAST
ACROSS THE DAKOTAS. THE GFS IS FURTHER SOUTHEAST THAT LEADS TO A
HIGHER PROBABILITY FOR CONTINUED COLD AND A CHANCE OF SNOW THROUGH
MIDWEEK. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY BETWEEN MODELS FEW CHANGES MADE
INTO THE EXTENDED BEYOND ADJUSTING TEMPERATURES DOWN.
&&
.AVIATION WEATHER...
INSTRUMENT TO LOW INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITH
AND ABOUT 100 MILES BEHIND THE COLD FRONT GOING THROUGH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA. THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS
WILL BE OUT OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST NEBRASKA BEFORE THE 12Z
TERMINAL FORECASTS ARE ISSUED. THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN THE
VALENTINE FORECAST. IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...INSTRUMENT
TO LOW INSTRUMENT CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL ABOUT 18Z. AFTER THE
INITIAL LOW CEILINGS...MARGINAL CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE INTO AT LEAST
THE AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE AFTERNOON IN
THE NORTH...THIS EVENING CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST. THERE IS A RISK OF
LIGHT SURFACE ICING AT THE VERY ONSET OF THE PRECIPITATION...
ESPECIALLY CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA I.E. BROKEN BOW AND NORTH
PLATTE.
&&
&&
.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM CST
THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR NEZ007-010.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM CST THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT
SUNDAY FOR NEZ006-008-009-026>029-037-038-059.
&&
SHORT TERM/EXTENDED...KECK
AVIATION...SPRINGERHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 113 PM CST SAT MAR 7 2009 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-081915- SHERIDAN-EASTERN CHERRY-KEYA PAHA-BOYD-BROWN-ROCK-HOLT-GARDEN- GRANT-HOOKER-THOMAS-BLAINE-LOUP-GARFIELD-WHEELER-ARTHUR-MCPHERSON- LOGAN-CUSTER-DEUEL-KEITH-PERKINS-LINCOLN-CHASE-HAYES-FRONTIER- WESTERN CHERRY- 113 PM CST SAT MAR 7 2009 /1213 PM MST SAT MAR 7 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AN INTENSE STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SNOW THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED ALONG AND EAST OF HIGHWAY 83...WHERE ACCUMULATIONS OF THREE TO FIVE INCHES ARE LIKELY DURING THE NIGHT. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE...GENERALLY 50 MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM NORTH PLATTE...TO BROKEN BOW...TO ONEILL. AS A RESULT...A WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER STORM ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND INTO A PART OF THE SOUTHWEST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF EARLY SUNDAY MORNING WITH SOME ADDITIONAL LIGHT ACCUMULATION...BRINGING THE STORM TOTALS TO FIVE INCHES OR MORE EAST OF HIGHWAY 281 AND THREE TO SIX INCHES FROM HIGHWAY 83 EAST TO HIGHWAY 281. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM STORM SPOTTERS...LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OTHERS WOULD BE APPRECIATED...ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING AND AGAIN EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE MASEK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Thomas county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 7 inches were reported near Thedford.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Blaine county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 5 to 8 inches were reported across the county with the heaviest amounts near 8 inches across the northwest portion of the county.
Heavy snowfall occurred across McPherson county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were reported across the county with the heaviest amounts near 8 inches across the northwest portion of the county.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Boyd county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches were reported across the county with the heaviest amounts near 7 inches across the western portion of the county.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Brown county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were reported across the county with the heaviest amount of 8 inches reported by a cooperative observer located 9 miles east northeast of Elsmere.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Rock county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches were reported across the county with the heaviest amounts near 7 inches occurring across the southern portion of the county.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Arthur county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 10 inches were reported with the highest amount of 10 inches reported in Arthur.
Heavy snowfall occurred across Hooker county during the late afternoon and evening hours on March 7, 2009. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 14 inches were reported with the highest amount of 14 inches reported 10 miles southwest of Mullen.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, March 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 150520, 150521, 150525, 150526, 150528, 150529, 150517, 150518.